Engine



Feb. s, 1938. N. c. PRICE Er AL 2,107,389

ENGINE Filed Aug. 13, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS /\/a//7an C Price Marcus! o/brop ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES ENGINE Nathan C. Price and Marcus Lothrop, Berkeley,

Calif Application August 13, 1935, Serial No. 35,940

11 Claims. .(Cl.123-'l9) Our invention relates to engines, particularly those of the air induction type in which the fuelis injected into 'the combustion chamber, and is concerned with such type of engines employing but a single valve, usually of the poppet type, for controlling flow into and out of the combustion chamber.

Internal combustion engines having but a single poppet valve in the combustion chamber are well known, examples being shown in Patent No. 542,845 to Diesel, dated July 16, 1895; Patent No. 1,791,991 to Widmann and Woolson, dated February 10,1931; Patent No. 1,859,541 to 'I'haheld, dated May 24, 1932, and Patent No. 1,926,077 to Winslow, dated September 12, 1933. Such engines are especially adaptable for use under constant speed conditions where there is little or no necessity for induction piping or exhaust piping. They are therefore suitable for unmuliled and unsupercharged aircraft engines and for other installations wherein the speed of the engine is so nearly constant that resonant efiects in the induction piping and the exhaust piping are not disadvantageous. If such a principle is to be utilized under other circumstances for marine work, for stationary engines, and for automotive and airmotive purposes, wherein supercharging is desirable and wherein exhaust muflling is a necessity, the engines are almost entirely unadaptable. But the use of a single poppet valve is very advantageous from the aspects of combustion chamber design, size of gas passages possible, temperature conditions of the valve, lightness and simplicity of construction, etc.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide a single poppet valve engine in which the intake can be supercharged and the exhaust can be muflied.

Another object of our invention is to provide cooling and scavenging of the combustion chamber of a single valve engine, by compelling positive air flowtherethrough.

Another objectof our invention is to provide a single valve engine which, retains most of the advantages of the single poppet valve construction and likewise obtains many of the advantages of a two-poppet valve construction.

A further object of our invention is to provide a single poppet valve engine which is mechanically quite similar to standardpractice.

' An additional object of our invention is in general to improve internal'co'mbustion engine design.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section on a vertical axial plane of one form of .engine constructed in accordance with our invention.

Fig. 2 is anenlarged view of a portion of the valve in closed position and its surrounding mechanism. 1

1 Fig. 3 is a cross-section to an enlarged scale of the valve in partially open position.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section similar to Figs. 2 and 3 but showing the valve in fully open position.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified form of engine in accordance with our invention. 15

Fig. 6 is a cross-section the plane of which is indicated by the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. I

In its preferred form, the engine of our invention includes a combustion chamber having a single poppet valve therein which controls communication between the chamber and an intake duct and an exhaust duct which are entirely separate but join at the valve aperture, together with means operating in time with the engine for blocking, partially but not entirely, at least 25 one of the ducts in order to guide the gas flow approximately but operating with sufllcient mechanical clearance so that no lubrication is required for the movable blocking means-and so that flow can occur continuously between the ducts around the blocking means.

In the form of our invention especially disclosed in'Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, there is provided the customary crank case 6 within which a crank shaft 1 is journaled, the crank shaft having a crank pin 8 connected by a rod 9 to a piston II. The piston operates in a cylinder 12 formed in a cylinder block l3 suitably secured to -the crank case ,6. The upper end ofthe cylinder l2 forms a combustion chamber into-which an injection 40 device It discharges fuel in-accordanoe with any of the customary systems ,(not shown) The chamber It has an aperture l'lltherein' which is closed by a. single valve l8, o'f the poppet type located coaxially or concentrically with'the cylindrical combustion chambers The valve .has a valve headv l9 resting againsta conical seat 2!, and a stem 22 which extends upwardly through the cylinder block. l3 where it is engaged by a closure spring 23. n The valve is actuated by a rocker arm 24 journaled on a pin ,25. supported on the block l3 and oscillated byaa pushrod 26 extendingto a tappetf Q21, inlcontactwith a cam 28 on a cam shaft 29. .The cam shaft is driven from the crankshaft l by a large gear 3|, twice all in accordance with customary practice. With the mechanism as so far described, reciprocation of the piston Ii causes rotation of the crank pin 3 and of the crankshaft 1', so that the gear 32 drives the gear 3| and, through the cam 23, the push rod 2 and the rocker 23, operates the valve iii in time with the operation of the engine.

Since the engine is of the injection type, we preferably provide means, in accordance with our invention, foradmitting atmospheric .air to the combustion'chamber 14.. To this end, within the block i3 is an intake duct 33, at one end connected to a pressure blower 34 of any preferable type which is operated by a driving connection 35 to the cam shaft 23, for example, in accordance with the speed of the engine. The other end of the duct 33 is directed into a position in which it is subflantially. concentric with .the valve stem 22 and constitutes a ring 36 almost in contact with the valve head It. In order to dis means for blocking at least one of the ducts 33 and 31, periodically in synchronisrn with or in cyclic relationship to the operation of the engine. We preferably provide a means which will require absolutely no lubrication and which at the same time will permit a minor current of air to [pass continuously, or virtually so, from the intake duct 33 into the exhaust duct 31. To this end, the valve I3 is formed with a block 4| concentric with the stem 22 and merging with the head i3. This block is incontour a circular disc which fits the outlet 33 of the duct 33 quite loosely. As shown especially in Fig. 2, there is an appreciable peway .42 or clearance between the block 4| and the duct 33, so that even when the valve is seated there is flow through the passage way 42 between the ducts 33 and 31. The clearance between the parts 4| and 33 is suflicient so that there is-no possibility of sliding or rubbing contact, between the two which would entail f'the necessity of lubrication. On the other hand,

'. {minimum to produce these desired results; and

the size of" the pe 42 is maintained at a the total area of cross-section of the passage 42 is made as small as is conveniently possible.

'I.".,, .',IIi'thejeperatior of an engine as herein describe "with the piston ii approximately on top dead center at the beginning of the power stroke (assum'i ng that the injector I8 is operating or has just operated), thevalve I3 is in closed position, and expansion ofthe burning gases drives the piston downwardly. Approximately at the bottom of the stroke of the piston, the cam 23 has rotated, counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 1, into such a position that the valve I3 is opened for approximately half of its 'possible travel into a position as shown in Fig. 3. In this position of the valve, the block 4| still is in proximity to the through the duct 31 and the muiiler 33 to discharge.

When the piston arrives adjacent top dead center at' the end of the exhaust stroke, the cam 23 hasrevolved to such a position that the valve I3 is opened for the remainder of its possible travel. This is the position shown in Fig. 4, in which the block 4| has been moved a material distance away from the inlet duct 33. Since by this time the exhaust pressure has dropped substantially to that of the atmosphere, and since the blower 34 produces a pressure 'in the intake duct 33 somewhat above that of the atmosphere, or approximately so, there is a flow of atmos-' pheric air through the duct 33, around and in immediate contact with the end 36 of the duct,

"the upper surface of the valve head l9, and into the combustion chamber I4. The concentric arrangement of the intake duct, the valve and the combustion chamber enhances the production of a symmetrical flow of air and facilitates the creation of a vortical or coaxial swirl to increase turbulence. During the intake stroke the operation of the blower 34 is assisted by the downward, inductive movement of the piston ll.

When the piston has reached. approximate bottom center and has completed the induction stroke, the position of the cam 28 is then such that the valve I8 is returned throughout its entire movement and is again seated, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, during the following compression stroke wherein the piston i I returns to its upper dead center position and injection takes place. This cycle repeats itself indefinitely during the operation of the engine.

It is pointed out that by an appropriate design of the fluid passages, especially the muiiiing device 38 and the exhaust duct 31, it is possible to utilize resonant conditions to produce a backward pressure wave in the exhaust which will effectively assist in charging the combustion chamber. Additionally, while the engine will operate satisfactorily without the blower 34 it is considerably more effective when the pressure,

. due to the blower, is suiiicient to maintain a continuous current of fresh air through the leakage space 42 in order to maintain the valve iii relatively cool and in order to maintain a. substantially constant direction of flow of gases in the ducts 33 and 31 so that there will be no tendency toward indiscriminate reversal thereof during the operation of the engine. Such flow of air is valuable during the approximately three-quarters of the cycle wherein exhaust is not occurring, to assist in propelling the previously exhaustedgases through the eduction system to discharge. The air blown through the system in this fashion and which does not undergo the working process in the combustion chamber, in one aspect is entirely wasted, so should therefore be maintained at a minimum value; but from. another aspect it is useful in increasing the scavenging of the engine to such an extent that considerably better results are obtained with this arrangement than can be obtained in standard practice with a single-valve, poppet valve engine. This is particularly true when the clearance space 42 is enlarged in time with the operation of the engine by the further opening of the valve, as shown in Fig. 4, priorto the end of the exhaust'stroke to permit a flushing flow of intake air to scavenge the combustion chamber. The scrubbing action occurring not only drives out burned gases but cools the cylinder and combustion chamber walls by direct absorption of heat therefrom, thus im- (ill proving the volumetric efliciency.

Since the terminus 36 of the intake duct is virtually at the I standard poppet valve design, the cam shaft 28 differs from standard practice only enough to produce the two-step valve opening described and to close the exhaust after the intake is a closed, and the arrangement of the ducts 33 and 31 is only slightly different than usual. In the main, standard practice is ,followed. Furthermore, no dliiiculty is experienced with lubrication, since the clearance passage 42 is of large enough size that lubrication of the blocking means can bedispensed with.

When the described arrangement is utilized in a carbureting engine, we prefer to providemeans for ensuring that the fluid passed from the duct 33 into the duct 31 is simply air and contains no fuel.

Under certain conditions of operation it may be preferable to provide a'blocking arrangement for the exhaust duct'as well as for the intake duct, and additionally it may be desirable to change the shape of the cam for operating the valve in such away that the motion' of thevalve more nearly approximates a harmonicmotion, to enable high speeds of operation to be attained. Under these conditions we provide the arrangement shown in Figs. 5 and 6. This arrangement is somewhat similar to devices disclosed in the patent literature (for instance, Abell Patent No. 1,311,200 granted July 29, i919, and Keister Patent No. 1,951,759 granted March 20, 1934) but is a particularly characterized by means for maintaining a substantially continuous current of air flowing through the induction and eduction mechanisms of the engine during the entire operation thereof.

The engine is similar to that shown in Fig.1

' and includes a cylinder block 5! within which -a piston 52 reciprocates'. ber 53 is formed in the block 5|, and an injec- A combustion chamtends to maintain the valve 51 in closed position;

An actuating rocker 60 is journaled as at 6| on a bracket 62 extending from the block 5|. The rocker is operated by a push rod 63 hearing on a cam 64 on a cam shaft 66 which is driven by the engine in the customary fashion and operates at one-half crankshaft speed.

In accordance with our invention we provide an intake duct II which extends from the outside of the block 5| into the valve aperture 56. The duct H at its intake end is preferably supplied by an air blower 12, although this can be dispense'd with under certain circumstances. The blower is preferably driven by the engine in direct proportion to the speed thereof. To conduct burned gases away from the chamber 53- In order to serve as a blocking meansv for the intake duct H and the exhaust duct 14, we provide a rotary barrier I1 contained in the cylinder block 5 and rotatably mounted in journals l8 and 19. This. barrier includes a body having an induction passageway 8| and an exhaust passageway 82 formed therein. These are in transverse bore. There is consequently no necessity for lubricating the rotary barrier with liquid, but gas leakage exists therearound at all times.

Additionally, in accordance with our invention we provide passageways 86 between the ,valve 51 in closed position and the terminus of the partition wall 16, so that leakage takes place at this location aswell. Since the surfaces of the valve and its stem and of the partition wall 16 are never in contact there is no necessity for lubrication therebetween. During the operation of the engine, therefore, and especially dueto the operation of the blower 12, there isalways, or substantially always, a current of fresh air flowing into the intake duct 1| through all of the leakage passages .and 86,'so that there is a continuous, or substantially continuous, flow from the intake duct H across to the exhaust duct 13. By this means the various parts are operated without contact, and a current of air is maintained in an appropriate direction to assist in induction of air and eduction of exhaust gases, to assist in cooling the parts, and to permit theuse of this type of mechanism without lubrication.

In the operation of the engine shown in Figs.

' 5 and 6, when the piston starts downwardly from its upper dead 'center' position on the power stroke, the valve 51 is closed and the injector 54 is operating or has just vceasedqoperating. At bottom dead center position at the conclusion of 'the power stroke the poppet valve 51 is opened fully by suitable rotation of the cam 54 and operation of the rocker 60, and at this time the passageway 82 is in such a rotated position'thata fully open path is provided from the chamber 53 past the opened valve 51 into the duct 13 and through the passage 82 into the pipe 14 to discharge. Some gas may tend totravel into the intake duct H but is prevented from passing materially thereinto because the passageway 8| is not in registry therewith and a virtually continuous barrier is presented to s'uchgas. Some leakage may take place, but this is of minor amount and consequence.

As the piston 52 arrives substantially at top dead center at the conclusion of the exhaust stroke, the valve 51 remains open, but by that time the rotary barrier 11 has revolved to such an extent that the passagewayM is out of registry with the passageway 13, but the passageway 8! begins to register with the intake duct H. Fresh air is thereupon blown through the passageway 8| and the duct 'II and over the valve 57 into the combustion chamber 63. Some of this air leaks around the valve into thev duct 13 and around the barrier Tl into the exhaust pipe 14. This is minor in amount, however, and of no material consequence. At the conclusion of the induction operation at bottom dead center position the continued rotation of them ll, and the piston 52 rises in eiIecting compression of the trapped air. Adjacent top dead center position the injector 54 operates and the cycle, having been concluded, repeats itseli. indefinitely during the operation or the engine.

In this case likewise the effect of resonance under certain conditions can be taken account of, and the :precise relationship, of the passages BI and '82 with the timing ofthevalve 51 can be varied to produce the best; results. With this arrangement, however, in common with the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, there is maintaineda continuous, or substantially continuous, current of air flowingfrom the intake duct into the exhaust duct in immediate proximity with the valve during the entire operation oi! the engine, and suflicient clearaiice is pro- 'vided between such ducts and an moving parts operating in conjunction therewith that lubrication is not only not required-,but can be entirely dispensed with. The amount of air which is utilized as leakage air from the intake ,duct

through the exhaustduct while in one aspect is 1 wasted, in another aspect is very valuable in asuse;

sisting scavenging, promoting clearance of exhaust products from the engine, and cooling and facilitating operation of the parts.

We claim:

1. An engine comprising a combustion chamber, an intake duct leading to said combustion chamber, a separate exhaust duct leading from said combustion chamber, a valve for controlling flow between both or said separate ducts and said combustion chamber, and means eflfective during the operation of said engine for maintaining a current of air flowing from said intake duct over the surface of said valve and into said exhaust duct."

2. An engine comprising a combustion chamber, an intake duct leading toward said combustion chamber, an exhaust duct leading away from said combustion chamber, a poppet valve movable between. a closed position in which said combustion chamber is sealed from said intake 4 5 duct and said exhaust .duct and an open position in ,which said combustion chamber isopen to said intake duct and said exhaust duct, and means operating intime with said poppet valve for'blocking but not entirely preventing communication between said intake duct and said exhaust duct. v Y

3. An engine comprising a combustion chamber, an intake duct leading toward said co'mbustion chamber. an exhaust duct leading away from said combustion chamber and communicating with said intake duct, and means ior partially 'blocking but not entirely preventing gas flow between said intake duct and said exhaust duct.

47in engine comprising acombustionfchamber, an intake duct leading toward said combustion chamber, an exhaust duct leading away from said combustion chamber, a poppet valve ductto said combustion chamber, means cyclically eflective to establish a flow of exhaust gas from said combustion chamber through said exhaust duct only, and means'continuously effective to establish a smaller flow of air through said intake duct into said exhaust duct.

' 6. An air induction engine comprising a combustion chamber, an air-intake duct, a separate exhaust duct, means for controlling communication between said combustion chamber and said intake and exhaust ducts, and means providing a leakage passage between said intake duct and said exhaust duct.

'7. An air induction engine comprising a combustion chamber, a poppet valve in said chamber, an intake duct leading to said valve, and an exhaust duct leading away from said valve, said ducts being entirely non-communicating when said valve is substantially closed except for open leakage passages therebetween.

8. An air induction engine comprising a combustion chamber, an air intake duct leading to said combustion chamber, an exhaust duct lead.- ing away from said combustion chamber, a valve for controlling communication between said chamber and said ducts, and means movable in time with the operation of said engine for blocking at least one of said ducts, said movable blocking means having a suiilciently free mechanical ilt as to require no lubrication and to permit leakage thereby between said ducts.

9. An engine comprising a combustion chamopening through a common aperture into said combustion chamber, a poppet valve for closing said aperture, and means on said valve ior block- J ber, an intakeduct, an exhaust duct, said ducts\ ing said intake duct except for a leakage passage.

10. An engine comprising a combustion chamber, a poppet valve in said combustion chamber,

an intake duct leading to said valve, an exhaust duct leading away from said valve, and means operating in time with said engine for alternately blocking each oi said ducts partially.

l l.- An engine comprising a combustion chamber, an intake duct, an exhaust duct, said ducts being separate but opening through 'a common aperture into said combustion chamber, a valve for closlngsaid aperture, portions 01' said valve being separated from their surroundings by a clearance space, and means forenlarging said space in time with the operation of said engine.

, NATHAN'C. PRICE.

MARCUS LO'I'HROP. 

